1981 – Abortion

How TIME Covered the News: Roe vs. Wade had been decided in 1973, but the abortion debate was no less vocal eight years later. In 1981, a bill titled the Human Life Statute was introduced seeking to ban abortion in its entirety, once again bringing the pro-life, pro-choice debate to a boil.

“It is the people who need protection the most, the poor and the young, who will be directly affected by what politicians decide about funding, parental consent or even an outright abortion ban. The more affluent and secure will always be able to get abortions when they want. And any ban will simply force many women who want to terminate their pregnancies to get illegal and unsafe operations, as happened before 1973.”